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In reply to the discussion: Photos show the difference between travel expectations and travel reality [View all]jakeXT
(10,575 posts)Published: May 5, 1986
ROME, May 2 The first McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Italy firmly planted its golden arches above a doorway in the heart of the Piazza di Spagna on March 20. Since that day, life for Valentino, the Italian fashion designer, has not smelled the same.
According to Valentino, who this week began legal action aimed at closing the restaurant, which backs on to his Rome headquarters, the McDonald's created a ''significant and constant noise and an unbearable smell of fried food fouling the air.'' He has asked Italian magistrates to order it closed immediately on the ground that it is a nuisance.
Valentino's is just one name in a long list of Romans who are not very happy about the new restaurant. The Land of Pasta
Recently, several thousand people rallied in the picturesque piazza in protest. The gathering, organized by the ''Save Rome'' committee, featured Italian singers, actors and politicians speaking out against the coming of the all-beef hamburger to the land of pasta.
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/05/style/romans-protest-mcdonald-s.html